‘Always thought’: John Aldridge says mayhem master ripe to explode with Liverpool

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·25 September 2023

‘Always thought’: John Aldridge says mayhem master ripe to explode with Liverpool

John Aldridge has backed Darwin Nunez to get even better for Liverpool over the course of his stay at Anfield.

The Uruguayan has defied his critics of yesteryear with a hugely improved start to the 2023/24 campaign in which he has come away with six goal contributions in seven games.

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“Darwin Nunz was great for Liverpool against West Ham – I’ve always thought he was going to come good,” the former striker wrote for the Echo.

“He’s a handful. He missed an easy chance – even that, what a goal it would have been – but he’s just such a handful.

“He’s a workaholic, which I was. You look at Rushy and the players that used to lead the line for the team, they have to work hard. He’ll do that selflessly and that goes a long, long way.

“He’s scoring goals, creating mayhem and he’ll only get better. He’s 24, you know? Good now but that’s really young in striker’s terms. The experience he’s going to gain with Liverpool in the Premier League – he’ll get better.”

As expected, the 24-year-old is thriving ahead of an increasingly well-balanced and dynamic midfield – a far cry from the dysfunctional mess that had fans pulling their hair out from the roots last term.

The stage is set for Darwin Nunez to thrive

We don’t necessarily expect Nunez to maintain his ludicrous goal contribution rate of one every 51.83 minutes, however, you’d be ill-advised to not back the former Benfica hitman to seriously improve on a tally of 19 goals and assists in 2022/23.

The real frightening possibility that’s worth contemplating is the striker overcoming his bizarre tendency to miss the sitters before scoring technically demanding goals.

Accomplish that and it won’t be long before the old comparisons to Manchester City’s Erling Haaland are dragged out – this time in a more serious, respectful manner.

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